PM assures IITs on reservation issue

Guwahati, Aug 26 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the government would look into the demands of the IITs to exempt them from the purview of the new reservation policy in selection of the faculty.

''I have understood the gravity of the problem. I shall bring up the matter before my cabinet and will take a decision,'' the Prime Minister said as students and faculty members of the IIT-Guwahati applauded it with an ovation.

He was at the IIT here to inaugurate its newly built convocation hall.

The Guwahati-IIT Director brought the matter before Dr Sing and talked about the problems being faced by the IITs.

Mr Singh, pointing at the students, said they were the future leaders of country and hoped that IITs would continue to churn out some of the best brains for the nation.

The HRD Ministry has accepted the demand of IITs that reservations in faculty should not extend to lecturers.

In a directive in June to implement 49.5 per cent quota in faculty, the Ministry had said while quota in management and humanities would be across all posts (lecturers, assistant professors, professors), in science and engineering, it would be at the entry level of lecturer.

It had also said that IITs would be free to de-reserve posts, if they did not get filled for a year. IITs, however, argued that reservations should be uniform in all streams.

The Ministry also admitted that it erred while asking IITs to reserve posts from the entry level of lecturer.

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